Could La Liga's new TV rights seriously harm Real Madrid and Barcelona?

   For years in the Spanish La Liga, Real Madrid and Barcelona have always dominated the allocated TV rights money, leading to other sides in the league struggling to stay financially afloat, or having to sell their best players on a regular basis. This has led to the league being fairly noncompetitive and on times predictable. Teams like Valencia in recent years have arguably been hit hardest by this lack of fair TV rights money distribution. For example Valencia have been continuously forced to sell their best players over the years such as Juan Mata, Jordi Alba and David Villa in order to not stray near to administration. Also clubs like Atletico Madrid have also been forced to sell star players such as Fernando Torres and Radamel Falcao. On times it may be because a player wishes to move on, however it is not a coincidence that it is generally only Real Madrid and Barcelona who have the final say on whether they want to sell their best assets. This is because they possess financial domination within the La Liga, and yes, they might be the most successful sides in the league, but a huge portion of their income is from the unbalanced distribution of the TV rights. However on the 27th April 2015 a legislation was passed which provided a definitive rule in which the money from TV rights that La Liga retains every year was from the 2016/17 season to be distributed evenly throughout all the leagues clubs.  

The two Spanish giants.

   However this is all set to change, and clear the way for a fairer and more competitive Spanish La Liga. From the 2016/17 season, the Spanish La Liga TV rights will far more evenly distributed to all the sides within La Liga, and not just Real Madrid and Barcelona (The Guardian, 2015). The structure will be similar to the current method in which the Premier League pays out finance from TV deals, and will be evenly distributed across all 20 teams, no matter how popular or successful they are. For example Q.P.R, the side who finished bottom of the Premier League in the 2014/15 season earned more money from TV rights than

Atletico Madrid, who finished 3^rd in their division, Cardenal said (The Guardian, 2015). This reflects the in balance in the way that the TV rights money in La Liga is distributed. Most clubs in Professional football heavily rely on TV money in order to keep financially stable. Without this financial stability within the La Liga, well performing teams such as Malaga F.C, Villarreal C.F, and Real Betis have on time found themselves relegated, due to not being able to keep their best players, as a result of financial restrictions.

A revealing diagram showing the unbalanced state of affairs. (Euros)

   So how will this actually affect Real Madrid or Barcelona in a negative way? When the legislation passes and gives equal TV rights to all sides in the league it will leave Real Madrid and Barcelona with roughly £120 - £140 million less a year. And considering financial fair play is beginning to take effect, this could furthermore restrict the two Spanish super clubs from spending big money, buying the latest ‘Galactico’, or poaching young stars from within minnow clubs. Will this lead to cuts in wages or financial power that the big clubs have in the transfer windows? It must, Barcelona are already very careful with their distribution of wage, with only two players within their respective squads who are above the £200k pay threshold, and a majority of the players earn £130k a week or less (TotalSportek). Taking the imminent TV rights implementation on La Liga this will lead to the two super clubs in Real Madrid and Barcelona having to look elsewhere for that extra £100 million that they would normally receive from the allocation of TV rights money. This will result in further wage cuts, which could then have a huge impact on the players who are at the top of their respective teams like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The modern day footballer is short of loyalty and if Barcelona or Real Madrid cut their wages further and say they cannot make as many marquee signings, the best players will up and leave.

  In conclusion as a result of the imminent new TV rights legislation's being implemented in the Spanish league, this could provide clubs in England such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City with an huge advantage going into European competition. It will also lead to the La Liga becoming a more competitive and entertaining league, as most football fans would not want to watch a game like Real Madrid vs Eibar, as they know it will be like a training game. Clubs will be able to retain their good players easier and therefore will be able to build decent squads, like the clubs in the Barclays Premier league.